WESTERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Languages
PROPOSED SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH 312
Instructor
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Schedule
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Consultation :

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MWF / 1:00 2:00 pm / Rm 213
MWF 4:00 5:00 pm

Course Title

MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE

Course Description

ENG 312 is a survey course of world mythology and critical course

intended to investigate selected texts. A study of the anthology of
mythology will provide a broad appreciation of mythological themes
across cultures, while an explication of significant texts in their entirety
will allow for a deeper appreciation of the historical, aesthetic, and
literary contexts of the texts. The course will discuss themes such as
cosmogony, deities and heroes, etc. from mythologies of the Greeks,
Romans, Norse, African, MesoAmerican, Hindu, the Philippines, etc.

Course Prerequisite(s)

ENG 6

Course Duration

54 hours / semester (3 hours / week for 18 weeks)

Units

3.0

Objectives

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Course Topics

Know the definition and importance of myths

Identify the main mythology texts around the world
Identify the main gods, goddesses, and characters of mythology
Express a critical understanding and appreciation of world myths

1. Introduction to Mythology
a. Definition
b. Significance
2. Critical Frameworks to Mythology
a. Joseph Campbell (myth as metaphor)
b. Carl Jung (archetypes)
c. Bronislaw Malinowski (functionalism)
d. Claude Levi Strauss (structuralism)
e. Ferdinand de Saussure and Roland Barthes
3. Mythologies of the world
a. Cosmogony
i. Hebrew origin myths
ii. Babylonian origin myths
iii. Greek origin myths
iv. Norse Origin myths
v. African origin myths
vi. MesoAmerican origin myths
vii. Philippine (Visayas) origin myths
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viii. Chinese origin myths

ix. Other origin myths
b.
c.

The Great Flood

i. The Epic of Gilgamesh [Middle East]
ii. The Hebrew Flood [Middle East]
Heroes and Adventures
i. Iliad and Odyssey [Greek]
ii. Nibelungenlied [German]
iii. 300 <film>
iv. King Arthur [Anglo-Saxon]
MIDTERM EXAMINATIONS : 14 AUGUST 2013

d. Tricksters
i. Prometheus [Greek]
ii. Loki [Norse]
iii. Thousand and One Nights [Middle East]
iv. Raven [MesoAmerican]
v. Anansi and Olifat [African]
e. Birth and Death
i. The Book of the Dead [Egyptian]
ii. Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca [MesoAmerican]
iii. Philippine (Visayan) myths
f. Modern Mythologies and Folklores
i. Lord of the Rings [UK]
ii. Harry Potter [UK]
iii. Sandman (Neil Gaiman)
iv. Princess Mononoke (Japanese)
g. Apocalypse
i. Hebrew apocalypse
ii. Ragnarok [Norse]
PREFINAL EXAMINATIONS : 4 OCTOBER 2013
FINAL EXAMINATIONS : 11 OCTOBER 2013
Additional texts:
1. Twelve Labors of Hercules [Greek]
2. Jason and the Argonauts [Greek]
3. Pandoras Box [Greek]
4. Oedipus Rex [Greek]
5. Perseus [Greek]
6. Aeneid [Roman]
7. Beowulf [Anglo-Saxon]
8. The Myth of Orpheus [Greek]
9. The Lost City of Atlantis [Greek]
10. David (Michaelangelo; Donatello; Bernini)
11. Jason and the Argonauts (Chaffey 1963) <film>
12. Oedipus the King (Saville 1968) <film>
13. Jason Campbell and The Power of Myth (PBS 1988) <film>
14. Troy (Petersen 2004) <film>
15. Mirror Mask (McKean 2005) <film>

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In-Class Activities

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Lectures
Reports
Class discussion
Film screening
Quizzes

Notes

1. Tardiness and absences will not be tolerated. A student who incurs

at least 5 undocumented absences or 10 undocumented tardiness
will immediately receive a grade of 5.0 for the course.
2. Cheating is prohibited. A student who cheats on a quiz or
examination will immediately receive a grade of 0 for that quiz or
examination, and may receive a grade of 5.0 for the course.
3. Plagiarism is prohibited. Research on proper citation and
documentation systems. A student caught plagiarizing will
immediately receive a grade of 0 for that quiz or examination, and
may be grounds for a grade of 5.0 upon investigation.
4. Students are encouraged to prepare ahead of the lessons.
Everyone (not only the assigned reporters) is expected to know the
plot of the text to be discussed, and the class schedule will be used
mostly for analysis and discussion.
5. Students are encouraged to be creative and fun with their
assigned reports. Major reports may come in the form of an oration,
skit, shadow play, dance, puppet show, song and guitar number,
comic strip, radio program, short film, etc. Use your imagination.
Extra points will be given to creative and fun reports.
6. Reports should always be accompanied by handouts to be
distributed to the class. (Please refer to the attachment for the
proper Report Handout Template).

Main Textbooks /
References

Hamilton, Edith. 1998. Mythology. USA: Little, Brown, and Company

Philip, Neil. 2004. Mythology of the World. UK: Kingfisher
Rosenberg, Donna. 2001. World Mythology: An Anthology. OH:
McGraw-Hill Higher Education

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